


Nature and Nurture

by LadyWallace



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Captured Cas, Castiel Whump, Episode: s13e07 War of the Worlds, Gen, Hurt Jack, Lucifer being evil, Manipulative Lucifer, No Slash, Protective Castiel, Protective Winchesters, Season 13 AU, Team Free Will 2.0, Tortured Cas, complicated father/son relationships, conflicted Jack, episode AU, powered Jack, sam and dean to the rescue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2018-02-16
Packaged: 2019-03-12 16:30:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13551210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyWallace/pseuds/LadyWallace
Summary: Lucifer is back and when he stumbles upon Cas and finds out about the connection the angel has to his son, Lucifer plans to use Cas to draw Jack out. But will Jack join with his father, or stay loyal to the family he chose for himself? 13x7 AU





	1. Chapter 1

Castiel pulled the truck up to the familiar park and looked around the playground to see if anyone was there. He might have been the one to reach out to Duma in the first place, desperate for any information he could find on Jack, but he didn't truly trust other angels not to have gotten wind of his contact and followed her to earth. Angels who might not have been as on board with Lucifer's son being kept alive. He wasn't even entirely sure where Duma stood on the subject. She was simply one of the few angels left who didn't instantly hate him.

He glanced at his phone again to make sure that Sam and Dean hadn't found anything in the meantime, but there were no messages. He took a deep breath and got out of the truck, heading over to the sandbox where the portal to Heaven rested.

Duma met him there, and she smiled slightly in greeting.

"Duma," Castiel greeted. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me. This is a matter of great urgency; it's imperative that I locate Jack."

"You mean the nephillim?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes. Do the angels have him?" Castiel asked, feeling sick to his stomach at the thought. If they did, he was sure Jack was no better off than if he had been taken by Asmodeus.

"No," Duma said certainly.

Castiel shook his head, desperate. "Are you certain he's not sitting in Metatron's old cell or—"

She shook her head. "If we had him he wouldn't be imprisoned. He would be put to work."

Castiel frowned. He didn't really like the sound of that. "What do you mean?" he asked. Were they planning on using Jack to raise the angels back to Heaven? Castiel hadn't truly thought about it before, but it did raise the question as to whether the boy was powerful enough to do something like that.

"Castiel, the angels…our numbers were greatly diminished after the fall. No one's made new angels since the dawn of creation." She looked at him almost pleadingly. "We're going extinct. We would need a powerful force to make more of us."

"You mean Jack," Castiel replied, the possibility expanding in his mind. He shook his head. "Even if he had that power…what makes you think he'd cooperate?"

"He may not have a choice," Duma said firmly.

"So, you're planning to enslave him for some kind of experiment," Castiel questioned, starting to see that his coming here had been a bad idea. The angels would be no help in his search for Jack. Not if they wanted to harness his power like…like some kind of…breeder. The thought made him sick.

"Castiel, he's not your pet," Duma said. "He belongs to all of us."

Anger flared through Castiel at her dismissal. Of course Jack was not a pet. "Jack doesn't belong to anyone," he told her firmly. "He is his own person and he deserves to have the choice of helping you. You can't just kidnap him and force him to help you."

Duma shook her head, looking somewhat regretful. "I'm sorry, Castiel, but we can't allow that. If there's even a possibility that he could help, we need to know."

The portal behind Duma opened with a glow of white light and two more angels appeared, walking out to stand on either side of Duma, looking at Castiel with steely determination. He began to step back.

"You did well, Duma," one of the angels said. "You delivered him as promised."

Her words chilled Castiel to the bone. This had been a trap all along. He should have known.

The same angel who had spoken turned to Castiel then. "We hear you have influence with the nephillim. He'll listen to you."

"No," Castiel said firmly. "I will not help you!"

"Ever the renegade," the new angel said blandly.

Duma stepped forward and reached out to take his hand. "Castiel, please, come with us."

He made his decision then, and shoved her back away from him, then let his blade fall from his sleeve into his hand. Duma stumbled back but the other two angels had already drawn their blades and Duma was not far behind.

The fight broke out in an instant and Castiel spun between the three of them, doling out hits, while trying to block the ones thrown at him, but it was three to one, and he was still feeling a little under powered since he had come back from the Empty.

Eventually, one of the angels slipped past his defenses and her blade pierced him right through the left shoulder. Castiel cried out in pain as the blade was yanked free and grace and blood pooled from the wound. He just barely got his blade up in time to block another blow, but Duma was behind him now, grabbing him by the back of his coat and pressing her blade to his throat.

"I suggest you cooperate, Castiel," one of the other angels said. "It will be easier for you if you just come quietly."

"Oh, come on, you should know by now that Castiel doesn't come quietly."

Everyone, Castiel included, spun around to face the owner of the voice. Gasps from the three female angels sounded as Castiel gaped at the newcomer.

"Lucifer," he growled.

"Hey," the fallen archangel said, digging one hand into his pants pocket, the other raised in a little wave. "That's right, I'm back…oh stop the slack jawed looks." He rolled his eyes, and flicked a hand toward Duma who flinched, and gripped the back of Castiel's coat tighter. "Do me a favor, Duma, and drop the blade. We wouldn't want you to accidently slip and cut poor Castiel's throat, do we?"

"Don't," one of the other angels told her quietly.

Lucifer raised an eyebrow. "Oh, is this gonna be one of those 'make my day' moments?"

He rolled his shoulders, and Castiel saw his wings flare on the ethereal plane, before his eyes began to glow red.

That, apparently was enough to scare them off, because Duma let Castiel go and quickly retreated toward the gate with the other angels. There was a flare of light and they were gone.

Castiel slumped slightly, clapping a hand to the wound in his shoulder. It was deep and went straight through, but he couldn't let his guard down now, even if he was bleeding grace all over. Lucifer was back, and he was probably going to want to repeat their last meeting.

Castiel adjusted his blade in his hand. "How?" he asked.

Lucifer shrugged. "Long story." He put his wings away and blinked. His eyes went back to normal, but a cough exploded from his throat, startling him as much as Castiel. Lucifer thumped his chest a couple times, and bent at the waist before he shook himself. "I'm good," he wheezed.

"No. You're weak," Castiel said in sudden understanding, striding forward with determination, blade coming up.

"Whoa, whoa!" Lucifer said, holding up his hands. "I'm not that weak. Just took a little out of me getting back here. But that's not important right now. What's important is finding my son." All the sarcasm went out of his voice then, and his eyes took on a dark look. The Lucifer that meant business. "I heard what Duma said, that you have influence with the kid. That's why they wanted you, right?"

Castiel didn't say anything. He didn't let go of his blade either. If the opportunity struck…

"So, uh, you know," Lucifer shrugged. "I'd be stupid not to take advantage of that."

"I won't let you take him," Castiel said firmly, stepping forward again, and trying not to wince as even that small motion jarred his shoulder.

"Come on, Castiel, it's not like you have time to raise a kid, you or the Winchesters, for that matter, I mean…" he snorted a laugh. "You think I'd be a bad parent?" He pulled a face. "Yikes."

"He's not exactly an infant," Castiel said half-heartedly.

Lucifer raised his eyebrows. "Oh yeah? Kid grew up fast? What do you know, already an adaptor."

Castiel glowered at him. "It doesn't matter, you know. He doesn't want to see you."

"Oh, is that so?" Lucifer asked darkly. "Well, we'll see if he changes his mind when he finds out that I have his favorite babysitter captive and that I'll do anything I have to to you to make sure he cooperates."

"If you think that will turn him to your side, you are more of a fool than I took you for," Castiel grunted.

"Oh, I don't know about that," Lucifer said. "He is my son after all. I bet given the right…influence…he'll be just a chip off the old block."

"He favors the mother," Castiel said with some pride.

Anger flashed across Lucifer's face briefly but he hid it quickly. "It doesn't matter either way. He'll still do what I tell him to. I'm his father."

Castiel shook his head. "I can't let you do that."

"Well, I hate to break it to you, kiddo, but you're not gonna stop me either."

Lucifer lunged at him before he could react and grabbed his shoulder and the wrist of his sword arm. He dug his thumb into the stab wound and wrenched Castiel's wrist around until he dropped the blade with a scream of agony. He tried to headbutt Lucifer, kick him, but Lucifer only swept his legs out from under him and Castiel crashed to the ground, right on his injured shoulder. Pain lanced through him and he rolled onto his back with a groan.

Lucifer looked down at him, hands on his hips. "See? Always have to do it the hard way."

He raised a foot and kicked Castiel in the head. Everything went black.

~~~~~~~

Sam looked anxiously out the window as Dean pulled the Impala up to the rundown motel. Jody had sent them a tip someone had given her about a young man that fit Jack's description staying there the past couple days and when Sam and Dean had looked into it they found that Jack seemed to have been around town, talking to some of the locals. They just hoped he was still there.

Sam was the first one out of the car, but Dean swiftly got out after him and hurried around the car to grab his arm. "Sam—Sam wait," Dean cautioned.

"Why?" Sam demanded.

"We don't know what we're walking into here," Dean said. "I mean, as far as we know Jack hasn't killed anyone, but…"

Sam yanked his arm from his brother's grasp, glaring. "Jack left because he didn't want to kill anyone. He's not dangerous, Dean, we've been over this."

Dean bit his lip, but finally nodded, seeming to have found some reserve of faith inside of himself. "You're right. But still, if he's scared, he might react…badly."

"That's why I'm gonna go in first," Sam said and strode toward the door to the room Jack was supposedly staying in. Sam raised his fist to knock, but then stopped. If Jack was worried about talking to people he might just teleport away if he heard someone knock at the door. So Sam instead cleared his throat and raised his voice.

"Hey, Jack? Are you in there? It's Sam and Dean. We just want to talk, okay?"

There was a long silence. Sam couldn't even tell if someone was in there at all. He turned to share a glance with Dean.

"Jack?" Dean called then. "Come on, kid. Open the door."

"Please, Jack," Sam added.

There was another long pause, but then, finally, the sound of footsteps, and the door opened about a foot, and Jack looked out, a somewhat sheepish expression on his face mixed with caution.

"Hey, Jack," Sam smiled.

"How did you find me?" he asked.

"Because that's what we do," Dean told him. "You gonna let us in?"

Jack hesitated, but then finally stepped away from the door and allowed the Winchesters inside.

Sam looked around, surprised when he saw that one wall of the room had been covered with articles and newspaper clippings, just like they would normally do while working a case. Dean's eyes widened when he saw it.

"Huh, nice decorations," he said.

"Jack, what is all this?" Sam asked.

Jack sat down at the small table with a sigh, hands folded in his lap. "I just wanted to do something good," he said. "So I…tried to use the skills that you taught me to research."

"You're hunting?" Sam asked, eyebrows raised.

But Jack shook his head. "No. I was…trying to find a way to get your mother back."

Sam and Dean looked at each other with wide eyes before they turned to the nephillim sitting in front of them. "Jack, you…" Sam didn't quite know what to say.

Jack looked down at his hands again. "I haven't found anything yet. It's not as easy as you would imagine to find a way to open a gate to another dimension. Especially since I don't know how I did it the first time. Apparently more goes into it than just raw power."

"Hey," Sam said and reached out to touch his shoulder. "We can figure it out together, okay? But right now, let's just get you back to the bunker. Back home."

Jack's face scrunched up. "Sam, I…I left so I wouldn't hurt you. I can't…"

"Jack," Dean cut in. "You've been out here for weeks on your own and haven't hurt anyone. I don't think you're just going to accidently do anything to hurt us, okay?"

"We want you to come home," Sam said with a soft smile and coaxed Jack to stand up. "We missed you."

"You did?" Jack asked, looking skeptically between the two Winchesters.

"Yeah, kid," Dean told him with a curt nod. "You're family."

Jack's face slackened and he sagged. "Well, all right. I would like to come home."

"Good," Sam grinned and then stepped forward and folded Jack into a warm embrace. The young man stood stiffly for a second, surprised, but then he sank against Sam and wrapped his arms around him as well. When Sam let him go, Dean surprised both of them by stepping forward and giving Jack a hug himself. Sam smiled at his brother who shrugged back and clapped the nephillim on the shoulder.

"It's getting kind of late, and it's a long drive back to Lebanon," Dean said. "You wanna just go grab something to eat and stay here for the night?"

Sam shrugged, but nodded. "Sure. That okay with you, Jack?"

He nodded as well, but then frowned. "Where is Castiel?"

"Off looking for you," Dean said. "We thought the angels might have gotten you so he went to…make some inquiries." He pulled his phone out of his pocket. "I did leave a message telling him about this lead but he hasn't gotten back to me yet. I'll let him know that we found you. He's been really worried."

Sam noticed a worried crease in Dean's brow and he felt some unease himself. Cas had left yesterday when they did before Jody sent them the info and he hadn't gotten back to them. Of course, the angel wasn't the best communicator in the world, but he hadn't even checked in to say that his inquiries into heaven had been a bust. Sam knew what Dean was thinking; that any time Cas had anything to do with the angels things seemed to go sideways fast.

"I'm sorry I left," Jack said quietly. "I didn't mean to worry anyone. I just…thought it would be better."

Sam gave him a small wry smile and squeezed his shoulder. "We've all run away at some point. But I'm glad we found you. I think you'll realize in the long run that it's easier to have people who care about you around. It took me a while to figure that out, but, trust me on that one."

Dean gave him a look, then dialed Cas' number. He frowned more and more the longer it rang, and then finally shook his head as the voicemail kicked in. "Hey, Cas, Sam and I found Jack, and we're headed back to the bunker," he said. "Don't worry, the kid's fine. Just meet us there when you get this."

"Still not answering?" Sam asked.

Dean shook his head. "No. But he's probably still looking. Hopefully he checks his freaking voicemail soon." He nodded to the door. "Come on, I'm starving. Let's eat."

~~~~~~~

Blinding agony in his shoulder woke Castiel and he wrenched his eyes open, screaming hoarsely at the pain.

"Oops, didn't mean to wake you," Lucifer said, with a mock pout and wrenched on some chains that hoisted Castiel further up, hands stretched painfully above his head, his toes just barely scraping the floor. He gritted his teeth.

"Where are we?" he murmured.

"Oh, just a place I found. Out of the way, no one for miles to hear you scream," Lucifer shrugged.

"How did you get back out of the alternate dimension?" Castiel asked, genuinely curious and also trying to distract Lucifer from the torture for as long as possible.

"Oh, well, long story short, Alternate Michael is even more of a maniac than our Michael, and he wants to come here for a visit, so he figured up a spell, made a portal, but I escaped and jumped in. Luckily for all of us, it's kinda a one man deal."

"And Mary?" Castiel asked, holding his breath as anxious fear clutched at his chest. "Did you…kill her?"

Lucifer snorted. "Did I want to? Hell yeah, but did I actually break her pitiful, annoying, neck? Unfortunately, no. She proved more useful to me alive than dead. Was kinda planning on using her as a bargaining chip but I got you instead."

"Where is she?" Castiel asked breathlessly, relief singing through him that Mary was alive. He almost couldn't believe it. Sam had been right all along.

"Last I saw, locked up in Michael's dungeon," Lucifer shrugged then inspected the chains he had locked Castiel up with. "But that's not really important. What's important is finding my boy." He cocked his head to one side. "So, what's he like?"

"Jack. His name is Jack," Castiel said firmly.

Lucifer's eyes widened and he laughed so hard, he pretended to wipe tears from his eyes. "Oh my Dad, sorry, it's just…I guess I should have talked with Kelly about a name. I mean, come on: Jack? Not exactly the kind of thing you'd expect the son of Satan to be called, am I right?"

Castiel glowered at him, refusing to say anything more.

"So, what's he like? I bet he's a bruiser like his dad, right?" Lucifer asked eagerly.

"Actually, no," Castiel said. "He's very…thoughtful. Kind. He cares about people."

Lucifer scrunched up his face. "Well, don't tell me all the bad news at once. I think this is a little case of nature versus nurture. I guarantee you that given the right exposure—me—he'll grow up into a right little devil."

"Which is exactly why you're never getting your hands on him," Castiel said firmly.

Lucifer crowded Castiel, hand descending threateningly onto his injured shoulder. "Careful. He is my son, Castiel. Don't make this a custody battle."

"Don't pretend you care," Castiel snapped. "The only reason you got Kelly pregnant was as a power play. To prove to Father that you could create something too. It was selfish and petty—just like you. But I think you know the truth, and that's that you would be a terrible father. Just like him."

Lucifer drove his thumb into the hole the angel blade had left in Castiel's shoulder, causing him to cry out. "You know nothing about me! I would be a better father than him!"

Castiel gave a shuddering breath. "I know everything about you. That goes both ways when you share a vessel, you know. You're narcissistic, psychopathic even. There's no way you can care for anyone but yourself. Not really."

Lucifer slammed his fist into Castiel's face, then again and again, until his ears were ringing. Castiel spit blood at Lucifer's feet, but he had hit a nerve, knowing very well he had been right about the fallen archangel.

"It won't matter," Lucifer told him. "After this, Jack will be with me anyway. I'm going to make sure of that. I'm going to make sure he kills you himself."

"Good luck," Castiel grunted.

"First though, I need him here, so… want to give him a call?" Lucifer asked, raising an eyebrow.

Castiel shook his head. "No."

Lucifer smirked. "Was hoping you'd say that." He reached out and started to loosen Castiel's tie. He'd already taken his trench coat and suit jacket away before he chained him up, and now Castiel could only watch as his last protective layer fell away. Lucifer threw the tie on the ground and started to unbutton Castiel's already bloody shirt. "Now we get to have some fun…well, I do anyway."

Castiel steeled himself for the pain to come. Even if he did know where Jack was, he would never give him up to Lucifer. He just hoped that the young nephillim was okay.


	2. Chapter 2

"So, where is he, Castiel?" Lucifer asked as one of Castiel's many cries echoed out around the dimly lit walls of whatever abandoned building Lucifer seemed to have taken him to. Lucifer gripped his face in one hand, his angel blade pressing harshly into the spot under Castiel's collarbone as the Devil leaned in close. "Where is my son?"

"You'll never find him," Castiel croaked, throat already hoarse from the screams Lucifer had ripped from him.

"Hmm, let me think, where would you and the Winchesters hide a powerful being?" Lucifer asked mockingly, effecting a thinking face. "Oh, I know. The bunker. How about I go and pay a visit there, gut your human pets, and drag my son back here so that he can win daddy's favor by killing you?"

"Have you even considered the fact that Jack might be more powerful than you, especially now?" Castiel asked, meeting Lucifer's cold, angry gaze. "If he doesn't like what you have to say, he could very well just smite you and be done with it."

Lucifer smirked then, stepping back a pace and trailing his blade down Castiel's chest, barely scraping through the skin. "Is that what he does? Is he a loose cannon after all, Castiel? Oh! Did he hurt you? Did he hurt the Winchesters?" He lowered his voice to a stage whisper, an eager, delighted expression on his face.

Castiel simply glared at him. "He is very powerful and he is still learning to use those powers. Even he doesn't know what he's capable of."

"Which is exactly why he needs a teacher," Lucifer said. "And who better to teach him than his own father?" He stepped forward again and reached up to grip a fistful of Castiel's hair, forcing his head back and pressing the blade into the corner of his eye. "But here's a question: Right now I can't feel him at all. When he was a baby I could feel him, I knew exactly where he was at any given moment, but now…nothing. So have you cloaked him somehow? You and the Hardy Boys?"

Castiel shook his head, allowing himself a satisfied smile. "I told you he was powerful."

Lucifer narrowed his eyes thoughtfully and then took the blade away, leaving Castiel to sag slightly in relief. "Well, I suppose I can't do anything about that then. I gotta say though, I am pretty proud of the kid already."

Castiel made a sound of annoyance in his throat that was rewarded by a slash to his ribs. Lucifer walked around him, pressing his blade into the middle of Castiel's back, between his shoulder blades, right where his wings met on the ethereal plane. He felt them shudder involuntarily.

"Whether you know where he is or not, Castiel, I think it's obvious that eventually someone will figure out where you are. And if my son cares about you so much he'll come running. Maybe you can give him a little shout out, hm?"

Castiel shook his head. He felt Lucifer shift behind him and then sigh before blinding agony ripped through his body, stemming from his incorporeal wings.

Castiel screamed.

~~~~~~~~

Jack lay on the bed furthest from the door in the motel room. Dean had insisted on taking the couch tonight, though Jack wasn't sure he could sleep anyway. He rarely did. It just always seemed to be an uncomfortable experience and tonight was no exception.

He was actually rather relieved to be back with the Winchesters. As much as he had tried to justify his leaving to himself, he had still longed to be a part of that family unit they had invited him into. But the risk of hurting them had scared him too much before. Now, though, he had been out in the world by himself for several weeks and he hadn't hurt anyone. In fact, he had tried not to use his powers at all. He thought that perhaps he was getting better at it. Now all he wanted was to be back with Sam, Dean, and Castiel.

Castiel. Jack frowned and turned over to face the wall. He hadn't missed the worried looks Sam and Dean had shared earlier when they had mentioned the angel. Castiel hadn't returned Dean's call either. Jack worried that something might have happened to him.

Thinking of how he had reached out to Castiel when the angel had died, even though he hadn't known it at the time, he decided to try it again, if only to see if he could figure out where Castiel was.

He closed his eyes and concentrated on the angel. Thinking of the way his grace felt when Jack was around him, the signature of his energy.

Castiel. He called in his mind.

A dull headache formed behind his eyes and he almost stopped, but he suddenly blinked and found himself somewhere else.

The room was dimly lit, but Jack could easily see the figure hanging in chains in the center of it. He was covered in blood and wounds, and seemed to be unconscious.

"Castiel!" Jack gasped.

Castiel's eyes shot open then, and he dragged his head up, looking around, before his eyes settled on Jack with surprise.

"Jack?" Castiel whispered.

"It's me…I—I think I'm dream walking. Where are you?" Jack asked him, wishing he could reach out and release the angel from his chains.

Castiel looked scared, eyes darting all over the room as if looking for someone. "Jack, listen to me, you cannot contact me this way. He'll hear you, you can't let him—"

"Hello, son."

Jack reeled back as another figure suddenly appeared in front of him, right beside Castiel, a hand to the angel's head. Terror crossed Castiel's face but Jack knew who this was immediately.

"Lucifer," he breathed.

"That's right kiddo," the fallen archangel said with a smile and a wink. "Daddy's back. I want to see you."

Jack shook his head. "No."

"No?" Lucifer pouted and took out an angel blade, twirling it lazily around in the air. "Hm, well, let me ask you this: you care about Castiel, right?"

"Jack, no don't listen—agh!"

Lucifer drove the blade into Castiel's thigh, cutting off his protests with a pained scream. Jack clenched his fists. "Stop hurting him!" he demanded.

Lucifer smiled. "I will, Jack. I promise. But only if you come see me. I bet you can find me yourself. You seem like a smart boy. Come make your daddy proud."

"Jack, don't," Castiel gritted out, before Lucifer waved a hand toward him, and Castiel choked up blood, halting his protests.

"Tell you what," Lucifer said. "Meet me before dawn, and I'll put a hold on doing any more damage to poor Cas here until you get to me. But if you don't show up, well, I'm just going to have to take him apart piece by piece. I might just start with his eyes."

"I'll come." Jack said, still seething. Castiel tried to protest again but Lucifer did the same motion and Castiel groaned as he coughed up more blood. "But only if you keep your promise!" Jack added.

"Good boy, Jack." Lucifer crooned. "Oh, and don't let the Winchesters get wind of this, yeah? Let's keep this in the family for now. See you soon, son."

Jack gasped awake surging up in the bed, heart pounding. Sam snorted in his sleep and rolled over, startling Jack, but neither of the Winchesters woke. He couldn't believe it. How was Lucifer back? He thought he had fallen into the alternate dimension with Sam and Dean's mother? But he knew it had been real, even if it was in his head and the only thing he could think about was that Castiel was in danger and he had to go save him.

He slid out of bed and hurriedly grabbed his shoes and jacket. He glanced regrettably at Sam and Dean. They would be angry to wake up and find him gone. But he couldn't let them go. He didn't know everything about their relationship with Lucifer, but he knew enough to imagine what the archangel would do to them if they crossed paths. But Jack was supposedly more powerful than his sire. Perhaps he would have a chance of defeating Lucifer once and for all and rescuing Castiel. Perhaps his powers would come in handy after all.

"I'm sorry," he whispered as he passed Dean sleeping on the couch on his way out the door. Once outside, he closed his eyes and felt for Lucifer and Castiel, then teleported away.

~~~~~~~~

Lucifer took his hand from Castiel's head and the angel slumped with a groan in his chains, breathing heavily, blood dripping down his chin.

"Well, I think he'll be here soon, don't you?" Lucifer asked. "I guess I should get ready." He grinned, giving a peppy shrug of his shoulders. "I can't wait to see my boy for the first time. I already feel like I missed so much."

Castiel dragged his head up and glowered at Lucifer. "You still should not expect him to be overjoyed at meeting you. Like I said, he takes after his mother."

Lucifer snapped his fingers and the chain suspending Castiel from the ceiling was released, causing him to collapse to the floor without the chain keeping him up. He fell in a heap with a grunt and Lucifer crouched down, giving him a nudge in his wounded shoulder.

"Again, I think you underestimate the connection between a father and his child," Lucifer said in a more dangerous voice. "In fact, Castiel, if you care for Jack so much, you should want him to have a good relationship with his father. After all, that was the one thing we never had."

He stood up then and walked toward the shadowed corner of the room. "I'll just pop over here for now. Want to make a good entrance."

Castiel struggled for a couple moments with the cuffs still around his wrists, but it was no use. Between the sigils he was bound with and the wounds sapping his energy, he was helpless to do anything. The only thing he could do now was try to warn Jack before Lucifer got the drop on him. Because even though Jack was his son, Castiel didn't really trust the fallen archangel not to hurt him—or worse, force Jack to do something he really didn't want to do. Neither option was good, but Castiel knew that the only thing that was certain was that it could only get worse.

~~~~~~~

Jack appeared outside of the old abandoned building. It didn't look like anyone was around, but he could feel Castiel inside, the angel's familiar grace laced with pain and desperation.

There was also another grace signature that was darker, also familiar, but one that gave him a sense of foreboding.

That could only be Lucifer. His father.

Jack clenched his hand into a fist, hesitating slightly. He wasn't sure what he would do meeting his father in person. Truthfully, he didn't care about Lucifer; Castiel was the one he had chosen as his protector even before he had been born. There had been something he had trusted in the angel, something that had made him feel safe. But then…Lucifer had come back from the alternate dimension for him as well. Wasn't that something that a father should do? Jack furrowed his brow at the thought. He was still too unpracticed with emotions and propriety to know what was normal or not. Either way, a meeting with his sire made him nervous. Perhaps he could just go in, rescue Cas, and then teleport back to the Winchesters, or the Men of Letters bunker without having to meet him.

He pushed through towards the door, and opened it cautiously. He winced as it creaked, and looked around. He wondered if he should have brought a weapon from Sam and Dean's arsenal, but then figured that nothing would probably work on an archangel anyway.

He looked around the building. It was dimly lit, and there were copious shadows that could hide any number of things. But as soon as Jack stepped into the large open space, the only thing that mattered was the limp figure slumped on the ground.

"Castiel," he hissed, and hurried forward, falling to his knees beside the angel, hands hovering over him, unsure of whether to even touch Cas. He looked like he had taken quite a beating, blood covering his body, seeping through his torn clothes. His hands were manacled with cuffs that had sigils on them, obviously the reason he wasn't healing.

"Castiel," Jack called again, and reached out to touch the angel's shoulder.

Cas jerked and raised his head with a sharp intake of breath, eyes wide as he saw Jack sitting there.

"Jack, you shouldn't be here, you need to leave," Castiel hissed at him.

Jack shook his head. "No, I came for you. Come on, let's go before Lucifer gets here." He reached down and hauled Castiel to his feet before the angel could protest. And really, Cas wasn't in much of a state to protest much. He was already leaning heavily on Jack as the nephillim started turning toward the entrance, stretching his wings to fly away. But he frowned.

"Why can't I leave?" he asked.

Castiel shook his head. "Lucifer has the place warded. It's a trap, Jack, you won't be able to fly out of here."

"Then I'll destroy the warding!" Jack insisted, looking around for the source of it.

"It's too late for that."

Jack spun around as fast as he could bearing Castiel's weight and came face to face with Lucifer in person.

He seemed…different than Jack expected. On the outside, Lucifer looked rather normal, but his grace…Jack frowned. He could tell the grace was corrupted, glowing red instead of bluish white like Castiel's and it also looked somewhat ragged at the moment. Jack wondered why that was. Perhaps something had happened to Lucifer in the other dimension?

The archangel looked him up and down, as Jack tried to figure out what to do.

"What?" Lucifer asked. "Not gonna give your dad a hug?"

Jack glared at him. "You're not my father."

Lucifer raised an eyebrow. "No? Well, it's my genes, kid. Like it or not, a piece of my grace is floating somewhere in you."

Jack swallowed hard at that declaration. As much as he wanted to deny it, he couldn't. He knew it was the truth. He could almost feel it, the way his—grace, soul? What was it he had?—reacted to Lucifer's nearness. It was almost a like calling to like. He found that thought unnerved him.

"Family doesn't end with blood," Jack said firmly, shaking his unease aside, remembering something that Sam had told him once. He'd liked the sound of that. "You're not worthy to be my father. I have another family."

"Jack," Castiel grunted in warning.

Something dark flashed over Lucifer's face and he took a step forward. Jack took a step back. "I'm not worthy?" Lucifer asked in a calm voice, but Jack could see the calm was deceptive. "I made you, you ungrateful little twat. You're my very own creation. So what? You think this washed up loser is a better father than me?" To prove his point, Lucifer waved a hand and Castiel cried out, slipping from Jack's grip as he doubled over, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

Jack simply gripped the back of Castiel's ruined shirt in preparation to pull him upright again and looked at Lucifer with both horror and hatred.

"I can see they already got into your head," Lucifer sighed. "So it looks like I have some brainwashing to undo. Here's the deal, kid" he stepped over closer. "You do what I tell you, and I might not call the Winchesters here to die alongside their lapdog." He stalked toward them, but Jack surged to his feet again, inserting himself between Castiel and the archangel.

"No!" Jack said. "I won't let you hurt them! Any of them!"

Lucifer rolled his eyes. "Okay, now you're really starting to piss me off. I'll start our de-brainwashing lessons by showing you how to properly inflict pain." He started to push past Jack to get at Cas, but Jack shot out his hand.

"I said no!" he yelled and his power flew out of his palm, slamming into Lucifer's chest and flinging him across the room to crash heavily into a wall, cracking the cinderblocks.

Jack hurriedly hauled Castiel to his feet again. "Hurry, let's get out of here."

But before he could pass the warding to teleport away, pain tore through Jack's head along with a high-pitched screech which he recognized as the angelic frequency that always brought him to his knees, like it was doing now. He collapsed, and cried out, clutching his head against the pain. He could hear Castiel calling to him, hands on his shoulder, but didn't get a moment of clarity until he blinked his eyes opened and saw Lucifer standing above him, anger on his face.

"I was hoping for this to be a happy meet and greet," Lucifer told him. "Unfortunately, you've already been taught too many bad habits by this scrap of filth and his human pets." He kicked Castiel in the stomach, sending the angel sprawling onto the ground again, several feet away from Jack. "It seems I'll have to use discipline instead. And I did so want to be a cool dad." Lucifer sighed with an almost nonchalant shrug, before he twirled a finger and more pain ripped through Jack's head. Before he knew it, he was blacking out.

~~~~~~~~

Dean woke to Sam's hand on his shoulder, jerking him out of sleep.

"What?" he demanded, hand releasing the gun under his pillow the instant he saw it was his brother.

But once he saw the look on Sam's face, something clenched in the pit of his stomach.

"Dean, Jack's gone," Sam said, with such a mixture of emotions, Dean wasn't entirely sure what his brother was really feeling.

"What?" he asked again, and sat up, looking toward the beds. The sheets of Jack's bed were rumpled but there was no sign of the kid. "You sure he didn't just go out on a doughnut run? The kid's been living by himself for a few weeks, he's got to have learned to be self sufficient, and you know he loves doughnuts."

Sam bit his lip but shook his head. "No, I don't think so. I think something happened." He slumped onto the end of the bed Jack had been sleeping in, staring across at Dean. "You don't think he ran off again, do you? He really seemed like he was okay last night…"

Dean exhaled slowly. He didn't know what to think, but…yeah, that kinda did look like the only explanation. "I don't know, Sammy."

"We have to find him," Sam said insistently. "Again."

"Let me see if I can get a hold of Cas this morning," Dean said and reached for his phone, checking first to see if the angel had texted him and feeling even more anxious when he saw there was still only radio silence. He dialed Cas' number and listened to it ring before it went to his voicemail.

"Son of a bitch," he said under his breath as he slammed the phone down and rubbed his hands over his head.

"What do you think is going on?" Sam asked. "You think the angels…"

"I don't know," Dean said and stood up, grabbing his clothes. "What I do know, though, is that we have to get to the bottom of this. Because if Cas ran into trouble with the angels, then maybe Jack found out and that's why he ran off. I assume they could get into contact with him."

Sam nodded, grabbing his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. "Yeah, it's possible. I just hope they're both okay."

"Me too," Dean said darkly and checked his gun, slipping it into the waistband of his jeans before he grabbed his car keys. "Let's go."


	3. Chapter 3

"Jack."

Jack woke up with a start, clapping a hand instantly to his head as it was still pounding. He rolled onto his side and hands descended onto his shoulder, squeezing comfortingly. Jack frowned, but relaxed as he detected Castiel's grace, a comforting beacon. He peeled his eyes open and looked up into the angel's bloody and battered face.

"Castiel?" Jack tried to prop himself up but every movement seemed to make his head hurt. He winced and curled back up on the floor. "What's wrong with me?"

"I'm not sure what Lucifer did, but I don't think you'll have any lasting damage. Just try to relax for a few minutes," Castiel told him kindly.

But Jack was already trying to force himself up at the mention of his father. "Lucifer! He's still here?"

Castiel pushed him back down again firmly. "He's nearby, but he left us alone for a while. Take a moment to recuperate."

Jack forced himself to stay still and focus on lessening the pounding in his head. "Castiel, I'm sorry. I was supposed to rescue you."

"You shouldn't have come in the first place. It was dangerous," Castiel chided.

"But he would have killed you," Jack protested.

Castiel sighed. "I can take care of myself. But you, Jack, you must be careful. Lucifer…he manipulates people. That's what he does. Even if you think you're immune."

Jack heard a note of bitterness in his voice and wondered at the story behind it. His head was starting to feel a little better though, and he slowly pushed himself up to sit against a wall. He realized then that he and Castiel had been moved to a small room, that might have been a closet at some point when the building was still in use. Right now, it only held dust, cobwebs, and a few old mildewed boxes.

"Jack," Castiel said, sitting across from him, slumped from his injuries, but looking a little less out of it than when Jack first found him. "I want you to know something about your father."

"He's not my father," Jack insisted.

Castiel gave him a small wry smile. "Perhaps not in spirit, but in actuality, he is. And unfortunately, you can choose your family, but you can't choose who sired you. However, I don't want you to think that you're anything like him because of that. Never think that, Jack. But I also think it's important you know what he's like. What he's capable of. Sam and Dean never explained to you, did they?"

Jack shook his head. "No, they just said he was bad….but not what he did."

Castiel sighed. "You see, Jack, Lucifer thinks that because you are his child, his creation, that he has power over you. I don't think he ever considered the fact that you might have a mind of your own."

Jack furrowed his brow at that. Was it true? Did he really have a mind of his own or was that just an illusion he had been able to keep faith in only until Lucifer had shown up on the scene. He recalled what the fallen archangel had told him earlier, that a piece of his grace was in Jack. What if that meant that no matter what Jack did, he would eventually turn to Lucifer's side?

"What if he's right?" he asked softly.

Castiel shook his head. "He's not, Jack, believe me. I have seen evil, and you are not evil. Do you know that Lucifer thought the same thing of Sam?"

Jack's eyes widened. "Sam? But Sam is good!"

Castiel smiled. "Yes, Sam and Dean are both very good and brave men. But Sam was destined to be Lucifer's vessel during the apocalypse. Dean was supposed to be Michael's and they were supposed to have a fight to the death. Lucifer was so convinced that Sam would say yes, and that together they would win the war that Sam even started believing it himself. Even Dean and I did at certain points."

Jack couldn't imagine it. Sam's obvious dislike of Lucifer, the uncomfortable looks that crossed his face when the archangel was mentioned, were starting to make a little more sense now though. "But he didn't say yes, did he?"

Castiel shook his head. "No, he did say yes. But Sam was able to overcome Lucifer's hold, stop him from killing Dean, and then sacrificed himself by jumping into the cage and taking both Lucifer and Michael with him." A pained furrow knitted Castiel's brows. "Sam endured unnamable tortures at Lucifer's hands, but he still survived and stayed true to himself. Mostly because of the support of his family."

Jack looked down at his hands clasped in his lap. The thought of his sire torturing Sam Winchester mercilessly made him sick. He may not have known Sam very long, but he still counted Sam as a friend and he knew that the younger Winchester couldn't have deserved that.

"And what about my mother?" Jack asked. "Did she know?"

Castiel gave a pained expression as if he didn't really want to say this. "No, she didn't know it was Lucifer at first. But Jack, Kelly didn't…she never regretted you." He reached out and settled his manacled hands over Jack's. "The whole time I was with her at the end, all she could think of was that you were going to be good, and destined for great things. I believe that too."

Jack bit his lip and shook his head, feeling an uncomfortable tightness in his chest. "But my father is…is Lucifer…all the things he's done—what if it turns out that I am no better?"

"Jack, listen to me," Castiel said, taking his hands firmly into his and squeezing to get his attention. "I didn't tell you this to make you feel guilty, I told you to prove you're nothing like him."

"But I killed that man," Jack whispered, remembering the sickening sound of that security guard's skull cracking against the pole. How cocky he had been that he could use his powers, Castiel calling to him in the background, telling him to stop. He should have listened when he had the chance. Jack curled further into himself, pulling his knees up to his chest.

"Jack, it was an accident. A painful one, but an accident all the same," Castiel told him kindly. "I've hurt people, even gotten them killed on accident before. So have Sam and Dean. It's a part of this life. You can't save everyone."

"I wish we could," Jack said quietly.

Castiel smiled at him, and touched his shoulder gently. "And that is why you are nothing like Lucifer."

Jack closed his eyes and only wished he had as much faith in himself as Castiel seemed to. He had to admit that the angel's hand squeezing his shoulder comfortingly did help him to find a little more strength.

They both jumped as the door to the closet suddenly screeched open and Lucifer strode in, glancing down at the hand Castiel still had on Jack's shoulder. The angel only moved closer to Jack upon Lucifer's arrival, glowering up at the fallen archangel.

"Yes, okay, I get it, you think I'm a bad father," Lucifer said, rolling his eyes as he reached down and grabbed Castiel's injured shoulder, hauling him back away from Jack. "But I am his father all the same. Now, Jack," Lucifer turned to him, and Jack was once again frozen by the piercing eyes. "How about we have a little chat. Just you and I?"

Jack looked over at Castiel who was hunched from his injured shoulder again, but that seemed to make Lucifer angry, and he just kicked the angel in the side of the head, causing him to topple sideways with a grunt. "Don't look at him for cues, Jack. Uncle Cas isn't gonna help you out here. I'll make sure of that."

That got Jack to his feet. "I told you not to hurt him anymore. You promised you wouldn't if I came."

Lucifer narrowed his eyes at him. "Then I suggest you continue to do what I say or I might get bored of following the rules."

Jack cast one more glance toward Castiel who seemed to be choosing to stay down for the moment. Their eyes met, and Castiel looked concerned, but Jack just gave him a slight nod. He would talk to Lucifer if that was all he wanted. But he wouldn't let him manipulate him.

"Fine, I'll talk to you," Jack said and followed his father out of the room. Lucifer cast a smirk back toward Castiel and slammed the door shut. His hand descended on Jack's shoulder then, insistent and demanding where Cas' had been caring and comforting, and Jack fought the urge to shake it off.

"Come on, son, let's go chat," Lucifer said, hooking his arm completely around the back of Jack's neck and steering him over to a pile of crates stacked to one side of the abandoned warehouse. He practically pushed Jack onto one of them, and then proceeded to sit on a higher one, looking down at the nephillim.

"So, first of all, I apologize for getting off to such a bad start," Lucifer said, pulling a regretful face, and shrugging slightly. Jack narrowed his eyes. He wasn't entirely sure, but he didn't think Lucifer looked very sincere in his apology. "It's just, you're my son, and seeing you with Castiel like that, I just got a little, well…protective."

"You didn't have to torture him to get me to talk to you," Jack said. "You could have just asked."

"Oh, but where's the fun in that?" Lucifer asked with a chuckle. "After all the times Cassie and the Winchesters have screwed me over…this was actually the least I could do to him. I mean, the last time I saw him, I thought I had killed the little feathered annoyance, but as usual, he came back. Again." Lucifer rolled his eyes.

Jack narrowed his eyes at him.

"I heard what Castiel was saying to you," Lucifer added after a beat. "Trying to turn you against me."

"He was just explaining the truth," Jack said.

Lucifer's eyebrows shot up in amusement, but there was a darkness underlying the gesture. "Oh, is that so? The truth, was it? How do you know it was the truth? After all, all you have to go on is Castiel's word. How can you be sure he's not manipulating you?"

"Because I've been told you're the one who does that," Jack said firmly.

He thought that would anger Lucifer, and there was a moment where a dark look passed over the fallen archangel's face, but then he just let out a short chuckle. "Well, you got balls, kid, I'll give you that. But you've never heard my side of the story either."

Jack clasped his hands in his lap, figuring that any time Lucifer spent talking was keeping him from torturing Cas again, so he glanced up at the archangel again. "Then maybe you should tell it to me."

Lucifer smiled then. "And I will. See, Jack, I loved my father. I loved him so much that I cared about him more than the things he created. Humans. He was so enamored of them, thought they were the best things in the world. But he forgot about his own children, and when I tried to show my love, my devotion to him, showed him how much better I was than those weak, two-legged sheep, well, it just made him angry." Lucifer shook his head.

"You mean you decided to kill people," Jack stated.

Lucifer shrugged. "Maybe I killed a few, maybe a few I simply urged to kill each other, but they breed like rabbits—it wasn't much of a loss. But Dad wasn't happy. He took it as a personal offence and threw me out, even though of all my brothers, I was the one most devoted to him. I was his favorite, you know." Lucifer got a far away look in his eyes, anger clouding in again. "So sure, I rebelled, and you know what my father did then?" Lucifer leaned over closer to Jack, making the young nephillim uncomfortable. "He locked me away in a cage for millennia! He abandoned me!" Lucifer was on his feet then, obviously agitated just by the thought. He whipped around toward Jack again. "And you know what makes it even worse? That he came back—finally—after years of gallivanting off with his creation, and he still didn't apologize for what he did to me before he ran off again!"

Jack didn't know what to say about that. He just decided it was best to stay quiet.

"But I came back for you, didn't I, Jack?" Lucifer asked, softening his voice slightly. "Even stuck in another dimension I came back for you."

"You did," Jack said simply. But then so had Sam and Dean when he had gone missing. They too had spent all the time he was gone looking for him. Perhaps partly because they thought he might cause trouble, hurt people, but also because they wanted him back. At least, that was what Jack had assumed from the conversation he'd had with the Winchesters upon reuniting.

"I wanted to prove that I can be a better father than him," Lucifer said as if talking to himself. "That I could make something too. That I could recreate the world."

Jack frowned slightly. "Recreate the world?"

Lucifer turned back to him with a wide smile. "But of course! Come on, don't you think a new world order is long overdue? I mean, look at earth! All the sad, sorry shmucks killing each other off only worried about stuffing their faces or getting the newest smartphone. I mean, come on, you can't really want to live in a world with hipsters in it, can you?" Lucifer pulled a face. "Even Dad got bored with it after a while, just let it go to grow on its happy wild way. His beloved creation, obviously not worth his time anymore. Point is, I'm apparently the only one with the guts to actually say as much. And with the determination to do something about it. Just like back in the day with the good old Apocalypse. But I leaned my lesson since then. I've got a better plan this time."

"But you can't start another apocalypse!" Jack insisted. "Castiel told me it would have destroyed the world and everything in it, including the people. And you've killed thousands of people besides that already."

Lucifer gave a glib shrug. "You gotta crack a few eggs to make an omelet, kiddo. Humans are like insects to beings as powerful as us. You know how many bugs a human kills just walking through the woods? It's only to be expected that some people are going to get caught in the crossfire when we do anything."

Jack again thought of that security guard. Literally caught in the crossfire when he had been trying to take out the ghoul. He looked down at the floor.

Lucifer caught the look and stepped closer. "But maybe you know this already? Tell me, my son, have you already left casualties behind you when you have used your powers?"

Jack shrugged away from him, but Lucifer reached out and caught his shoulder. "Hey, there's nothing to feel bad about. It's just the natural order of things."

"But I killed someone!" Jack cried, raising his voice. "How is that a good thing?"

"I never said it was good or bad," Lucifer told him. "I just said it's inevitable and not worth your time to worry about."

"But people matter," Jack said, confusion at what he should feel tinting his voice with anger as he looked up at Lucifer. "That's what Castiel and the Winchesters told me."

That turned Lucifer's coaxing voice to steel as he straightened up and pulled away from Jack. "Of course that's what they would tell you—that's what they want everyone to believe about them, their little 'saving people, hunting things' campaign. But here's the thing, Jack—Castiel, wasn't of any different mindset than me or any other angel until he met the Winchesters. I mean, only a few years back, he used a ton of souls to gain control in heaven. And that body he's walking around in? He was a human Cas got killed, had a wife and daughter too. So no matter how much they want to spout the company line, at the end of the day, Castiel only really cares abut the Winchesters. Any other humans who get in the way are just collateral damage. And the same goes for Sam and Dean. I could fill a book with all the times they've gotten a slew of people killed, or almost broke the world to save each other's asses. So if you were laboring under the assumption that you might be in that elite club, that you might mean anything to them if it was between you or one of them, then you are wrong."

Jack felt his chest tighten at Lucifer's piercing words. Maybe because he had suspected the same thing. After all, hadn't Dean wanted to kill him before he got to know Jack?

"Here's the truth, kid," Lucifer told him firmly. "All Castiel and the Winchesters want is to control you. If they had their way, they'd make sure you never used your powers again. The Winchesters want you to get their mom back, and Castiel will inevitably hand you over to the angels so they can figure out if you're powerful enough to create new ones. Me, though, I'm not going to use you as an inter-dimensional key, or a lab experiment," Lucifer said, stepping forward again and settling a hand on Jack's shoulder. "I want you to be my partner. Think about it, a father-son duo reshaping the world! It's the opportunity of a lifetime, Jack!"

Jack just stared up at the coaxing smile on Lucifer's face, and shook his head. "But this…I still don't understand why you want to reshape the world."

Lucifer raised his eyebrows. "Look, Jack, I know you haven't been around long, but come on. The world is a disgusting mess of aberrations. Humans are messy and pointless. You gotta see it."

"So you want to get rid of all of them?" Jack demanded.

Lucifer shook his head. "No, of course not. Who would we rule then? The humans can stay, they'll just have to learn to live with the new world. A better world. One with gods on earth. That'll be you and me, kid." He ruffled Jack's hair, but the nephillim ducked away from him and stood up, facing his father.

"I don't want that," he said confidently.

Lucifer cocked his head, an expectant look on his face. "I'm sorry?"

Jack shook his head. "I don't want that. I want…I want to help people. Like Sam and Dean and Cas taught me to. I think they do good. Perhaps they have done bad too, but Castiel told me that accidents can happen. People can get hurt. But the lives you save help make up for that in the end. You don't want to save any lives, you just want to destroy. You just want power. And I don't think the world is full of aberrations. It might be confusing sometimes, but I still think it's beautiful."

Fury crashed over Lucifer's features as he reached out and snagged Jack's shoulder again, this time with a crushing grip. "You know nothing of the world, boy! Do you have any idea what the general populace would do to something like you if they knew what you were? Do you really think the Winchesters and their broken angel will be able to do anything against my power when I set my new plan in action?"

Jack cocked his head to one side. "I know they defeated you before. And…you're weaker now."

The next second he found himself sprawled on the floor, the side of his face numb with the force of the blow that Lucifer had dealt him. Jack carefully brought a hand to his cheek, as he looked up at Lucifer looming over him.

"How dare you?" Lucifer said dangerously. "I am your father, and you will show me some respect." He reached down and hauled Jack to his feet, gripping him by the back of the neck as he forced him back toward the closet where Castiel was still being kept.

"Just for that, I'm going to give you a little demonstration. Show you exactly what happens to people who cross me." He reached into his coat and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. Jack tried to pull away, but Lucifer had already snapped them around his wrists. Jack felt an odd heaviness in his limbs, and when he curiously reached for his underlying power, he found he couldn't touch it. Panic started to well up inside of him.

"That's right. Unlike the typical Enochian handcuffs that the Winchesters like to use, these will actually hold a nephillim. I didn't want to have to so this, son, but I thought it would be best to be prepared all the same," Lucifer told him as he opened the door to the closet and shoved Jack inside.

Castiel looked up with resigned eyes from where he sat slumped in one corner of the room. Lucifer shoved Jack against the wall and jerked his hands above his head, attaching the chain between the manacles to a hook above him. Jack struggled.

"Why do you have to do this?" he asked.

"Because you obviously need to be taught a lesson," Lucifer snarled, crowding into Jack's personal space. Jack pressed himself as far back against the wall as he could, turning his head away. Was his father actually going to torture him? He thought about what Castiel had told him, about how Lucifer had tortured Sam in Hell for years. Jack wondered if he would be able to endure what Lucifer was about to do to him.

"Lucifer, don't," Castiel said in a low voice. "I swear, if you touch that boy…"

Lucifer laughed and looked over his shoulder to glance at the wounded angel. "Oh, I'm not going to hurt Jack—what kind of father would I be?" Lucifer simpered, reaching out to run an almost mockingly gentle hand down the side of Jack's face where he had hit him earlier. Jack jerked away.

"You on the other hand…" Lucifer spun around and stalked toward Castiel, reaching down to yank him to his feet. Castiel was unable to help the grunt of pain that escaped his throat at the sudden movement as Lucifer slammed him against the wall and attached his manacles to another hook in one swift movement. "Jack obviously cares about you. It would only make sense if I used you to teach the needed lesson."

Jack jerked against his chains, trying to get free. "Lucifer, don't! You said you wouldn't hurt him!"

"Deal's off, kiddo," Lucifer said with a shrug. "You should have taken my offer when you had the chance." He took an angel blade out of his coat and held it up between him and Castiel. "Now," he said, eyebrows bobbing. "Where were we?"

Jack screamed in frustration, trying to break his chains, but Lucifer was done paying attention to him. He was helpless, both his body and his powers bound, and the only thing he could do was watch helplessly as Lucifer brought the blade to Castiel's flesh.


	4. Chapter 4

"Isn't this kind of a shot in the dark?" Dean asked as he drove down the highway, following Sam's directions as he used the GPS tracking device in Cas' phone to find the angel's location. "I mean, we don't even know for sure that the kid is with Cas."

"Well, either way, Cas is probably in some kind of trouble, and once we get to him, he can help us track down Jack if he's not there already." Sam said.

Dean tightened his jaw, but nodded. They were still only getting voicemail from Cas' phone and Dean didn't like that at all. Sure, the angel had been known to go radio silence, but after what had happened with the Colt and Dagon, Cas had gotten a lot better about not doing that. Dean was still worried that it was totally possible the angel Cas had gone to see was nothing but a trap and their friend had been dragged back to Heaven for torture.

"Well, the good news is that the location I'm getting is not at the portal to Heaven at the playground," Sam said as the program finally locked onto Cas' location. "This says he's in Kansas—actually not too far outside of Lebanon."

Dean frowned and glanced over at the tablet Sam held in his lap. "So what, he's heading home?"

Sam's brow pinched. "He's not moving, so I don't really know what he's doing."

Dean felt a sick twist in his stomach as he turned his attention back to the road and pressed his foot a little harder into the gas. Of course, Cas may have stopped to get gas or something, but it was also possible that he could be lying hurt somewhere, unable to move. Or…maybe his phone had been ditched in that spot, and Cas wasn't there at all.

"Huh," Sam said, grabbing Dean's attention away from his dark thoughts. "I pulled up an address for the spot. It's in an old warehouse lot. Seems to be abandoned."

Dean groaned. "Of course. That means he's gotta be in trouble." He gunned Baby even faster, hoping they could find Cas, and Jack both, before it was too late.

~~~~~~~

Jack fought to at least get free of the wall. He didn't know what he would do once he accomplished that, but he could at least try to distract Lucifer for a minute or two. But the hook he was attached to was too high up for him to work the chain from, and no matter how hard he pulled, he couldn't break it. Not with the sigils on the cuffs sapping his power. So he could only watch helplessly as Lucifer continued to torture Castiel, seeming to enjoy it all too much.

"It's been a while since we've had some quality time together, hasn't it, Cas?" Lucifer said, taking a break from the torture to grip Castiel's chin, raising his lolling head. "I mean, last time, I didn't have much time to do anything but…stab you. Trust me, I definitely prefer this." Cas groaned as Lucifer pressed the blade into the meat of his shoulder. "We haven't had this much time together since we shared this vessel of yours."

Jack frowned, distracted for a moment from his struggles. Cas and Lucifer had shared a vessel? Why hadn't Castiel said anything?

"Well, I don't exactly miss it," Castiel grunted before letting out a sharp cry as Lucifer slashed the blade across his chest.

"Face it, Castiel, you're pathetic, and you know it," Lucifer said mockingly. "Do you really think you can control this kid?"

"I don't want to control him," Castiel gritted out. "I want to raise him well. Don't you think he deserves that?"

"Of course I do!" Lucifer snarled. "Why do you think I came for him?"

"Really?" Castiel asked, a darkness underlying his words. "Because all I see is you manipulating him and chaining him to a wall. Tell me; how does that make you any better than how you see our Father?"

"You little prick," Lucifer snarled and slammed the butt of the angel blade into the side of Castiel's face before grabbing him by the throat and raising him onto his toes. "I'm nothing like him! Nothing!"

Lucifer dug the blade into Castiel's stomach, easing it in slow and deep. Cas gave a choked-off cry.

"No!" Jack screamed, renewing his effort to get free, straining as he pulled on his chains. He tried to reach for his powers, feeling them just on the edge of his consciousness, just out of reach. He strained harder, pain piercing his skull, as the manacles around his wrists started to feel hotter.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you yet," Lucifer gritted out. "I want you to suffer first. And then…I'm going to take what's left of your grace to give myself a little recharge."

"It will just burn you out, make you sick," Castiel grunted out from between clenched teeth. "Trust me. I know."

Lucifer laughed. "Maybe for a low level angel like you, but for an archangel, it's just like drinking a hundred Red Bulls—gives you wings. Maybe you should try one of those sometime, Castiel."

Lucifer finally drew a guttural scream from Cas as he twisted the blade up inside of him. The angel's true voice could be heard, piercing Jack's ears and making him see red.

"Stop!" Jack screamed, making one last effort to reach for his powers and then felt something break like a floodgate. Pain ripped through his skull, and he felt fire lapping at his wrists as he yanked hard on them, his hands finally falling to his sides. He cast one glance down at them, seeing the manacles around his wrists glowing red hot, the sigils starting to melt away. One of the manacles fell to the ground, leaving raw burns around his wrist. But he could feel his powers starting to come back, and he instantly strode toward Lucifer who had just pulled the blade out of Castiel and turned around.

Jack flung his hand up, feeling his previously bound power explode from him, smashing into Lucifer and sending him flying back into the wall, cracking the cinderblock behind him. The fallen archangel crashed to the ground but scrambled to his feet again almost instantly. The blade coated in Castiel's blood raised, a snarl of anger on his face.

"Jack. Don't use your powers on me, boy."

"I told you not to hurt Castiel any more," Jack said in a low, dangerous voice. "You didn't stop. Now you should leave before I hurt you."

"I'm not the one who's going to get hurt here," Lucifer said and brought the blade up again, lunging over to Castiel who was still slumped in his chains.

Jack flung up a hand again, the one free of the shackle. "No!" he shouted.

Lucifer froze, swallowed by the power Jack was emitting. Jack's head felt like it was splitting open. The second manacle was burning around his wrist, still persisting in keeping his powers slightly bound, crippling him for the moment. Lucifer was harder to hold than anyone Jack had gone up against before. He was already fighting against Jack's hold, edging the knife closer and closer to Castiel's chest. Jack forced his powers to manifest even more, urging them on, and felt something wet dripping down from his nose onto his upper lip for his troubles.

Then finally, his other shackle broke off his wrist as well and fell to the floor. Jack screamed through the pain, clenching his hands and manipulated his powers to twist Lucifer's arm around. There was a snapping sound as the archangel's arm broke.

Lucifer cried out in both shock and pain and the angel blade fell from his hand. Jack wrenched his arm to the side, flinging Lucifer flat against the wall again.

He staggered forward, grabbing his splitting head with one hand as he pushed harder, forcing Lucifer against the wall with more and more power. The cinderblocks started to crack and cave from the force.

"You really are powerful, aren't you, kiddo?" Lucifer panted and his anger turned, for the moment, into a dark chuckle.

"Yes. I am," Jack replied simply and exerted more force. He could almost feel Lucifer's ribs creaking under the pressure.

"But I think you're forgetting something—I have a failsafe," Lucifer said and his eyes flashed red and suddenly a piercing ring stabbed into Jack's head.

He cried out and instantly lost his hold on Lucifer. The archangel slumped and staggered but he kept his feet, while Jack collapsed, both hands clutching his head. More blood streamed from his nose and now his ears as well. He felt like the inside of his head was being flayed with a fiery lash.

"Lucifer stop!" Jack could barely hear Castiel cry. "You said you wouldn't hurt him! He's your son!"

"Which is exactly why I'm taking it upon myself to punish him," Lucifer said. "How else is he going to learn what is right? Who he should obey?"

Jack screamed, trying to regain his feet, or at least get to his hands and knees, but the only thing he could do was curl up, just trying to breathe through the agony in his head.

~~~~~~~~

Castiel watched helplessly, only half conscious, as Lucifer turned the tables on Jack and gained control over the young nephillim by using the angelic frequency that seemed to tear into his head. Castiel wasn't sure what long term exposure would even do to Jack. Whether it would have lasting damage or not. All he knew was that in that moment he was terrified that he was going to have to watch Lucifer break his own son and then force Jack to watch as he killed Castiel. Again.

A cold dread settled deep in Castiel's chest. He didn't want to die again. He didn't want to go back to the Empty.

"I can see I have a lot of work to do," Lucifer said to himself, shaking his head as he stood over Jack. "Castiel and the Winchesters have filled your head with lies and foolish ideals. I imagine it will take a while, longer than I want, to bring you around to my side."

Jack panted on the floor, whimpering in pain as Lucifer ceased tormenting him for the moment. Castiel felt sick. The sight of the boy lying there, blood streaming from his ears and nose made him furious. Especially because he could do nothing in his weakened and bound position.

Lucifer reached down with his uninjured arm and grabbed Jack by the front of his shirt, hauling him around to slump against the wall. He patted his cheek none-too-gently. "Come on, Jackie-boy. Open those eyes of yours. Show Daddy what a good boy you are."

Jack's eyes flickered, but didn't open, his head lolling to one side.

"Stop," Castiel gritted out. "Can't you see you've gone too far? What if you've hurt him irreparably?"

"He'll be fine, won'tcha, kiddo? You're tougher than that, if you're anything like your dad. Come on now, Jack," Lucifer said, taking hold of Jack's face and jiggling him a bit. When Jack still didn't respond Lucifer left him to fall limply back to the floor, before standing up and turning back around to Castiel, wincing slightly as he tucked his broken arm against his chest. Castiel knew he must be low on power if it still hadn't healed. "He'll come around soon. Maybe if he hears you scream it will move things along." Lucifer shot his good hand out and thrust his fingers into the deep stab wound in Castiel's stomach. The angel couldn't help the scream that was ripped from his throat as Lucifer only shoved more of his hand into the open wound, twisting his fingers in Castiel's guts.

"That's what I'm talking about," Lucifer grinned.

"Hey!"

Castiel's eyes shot upward, looking over Lucifer's shoulder as a crash was heard, and saw Sam and Dean standing in the doorway to the small closet, guns raised, looks of shock and disbelief on their faces.

"Lucifer," Sam breathed.

"Sam, Dean," Lucifer said, yanking his hand out of Castiel and turned, blood dripping from his fingers, to face the Winchesters. "So nice of you to join the party."

"How the hell are you here?" Dean demanded, his gun still held level with the archangel's head.

Lucifer grinned. "Long story. Uh, you do realize that's not going to do anything to me, right?" He cocked an eyebrow. "But you're welcome to go ahead anyway. I could use a good tickle."

Castiel watched, breathless as Sam and Dean faced Lucifer, their eyes darting to him and Jack, who still seemed to be unconscious. As if this situation wasn't already bad enough, Castiel was now going to have to watch the rest of his family be slaughtered.

Dean shrugged, some of his cocky attitude returning after the initial shock. "I don't know. It's the thought that counts, right?" He pulled the trigger and a bullet slammed into Lucifer's shoulder—the same arm that was already broken.

The archangel cried out with shock and clapped a hand to the wounded shoulder that was gushing blood. "What…the hell?" the archangel demanded.

Dean's eyes were just as wide. "Damn. Didn't think the angel bullets did that much to you."

Lucifer growled and waved a hand angrily. The gun went flying from Dean's hands and then the hunter followed, tossed into the wall, hitting hard before slumping to the ground with a grunt.

"Dean!" Castiel called frantically. "Sam!"

"Oh, don't run, Sammy," Lucifer said, striding forward after sending Sam's gun flying as well. The younger Winchester stood his ground, though Castiel could see the terror in his eyes. Sam, though weaponless, raised a first and slammed it into the side of Lucifer's face. Lucifer's head whipped to the side, but he shrugged the hit off and reached out with his good hand to grab the hunter by the throat, dragging him closer to him. "We're gonna have so much fun."

Movement caught Castiel's eye, and he glanced over to see Jack coming to, looking around to take in the situation as it was now.

"No," he grunted, and pushed himself to his feet.

Lucifer looked back over with a grin. "Oh good, look who's awake. You definitely don't want to miss this, kiddo."

Dean shook himself, grunting. "Sammy!" he cried. Lucifer only grinned at him, and tossed Dean backwards as he started forward. The hunter crashed into the wall next to Cas.

"Dean," Cas said urgently, rattling his chains. He might not be able to do much in his current state, but he would be dammed if he just waited out this fight chained to a wall. Dean cast one last glance at Sam and scrambled for a lockpick in his coat to start working on the manacles.

Castiel grunted as Dean undid the cuffs and then he slumped, unable to hold himself upright. Dean swiftly stepped in and got a shoulder under his arm, keeping him up, looking around for some kind of weapon.

"Ah, where do you think you're going?" Lucifer demanded of them, glancing around from where he was still choking Sam out, the younger Winchester clawing at his hand. Lucifer waved his hand again and Castiel felt a force slam into him and Dean, sending them flying backwards. Sam soon followed, all three of them lying in a heap on the ground, dazed, and in Castiel's case, singing with pain.

"Son of a bitch," Dean grunted.

Jack was on his feet now, looking anxious as he glanced between Lucifer and the others, still unsteady and looking about ready to drop again.

Lucifer glanced at him with a small smirk. The archangel was a mess himself with one arm broken, and the bullet wound in the same shoulder.

"See son? This is what happens to people who cross me. I'm afraid there's no room for these chronic rebels in our new world, Jack. They'll have to be done away with." Lucifer strode over, and picked up Castiel by the back of his ruined shirt, dragging him a few feet from the Winchesters who protested. "Starting with the weakest link."

Castiel grunted as Lucifer gripped a fistful of his hair and pulled him to his knees, wrenching his head back to expose his neck. Lucifer had grabbed hold of a blade again and settled the cold steel against Castiel's skin. The archangel's broken arm seemed to have started to heal, unfortunately.

"No!" Dean shouted.

"Lucifer stop!" Sam gasped out, still getting his breath back.

"Sorry, boys. Time to say goodbye to your pet angel," Lucifer said with a dark glee. "Maybe it will actually stick this time. Don't worry, Cas. Your grace will be much appreciated."

"No!" Jack screamed.

Castiel felt the blade pierce his skin and then nothing. He was swallowed by a sonic wave, but it was only washing over him, concentrating on Lucifer instead. Castiel glanced over his shoulder to see Lucifer standing with his eyes wide, one hand clutching at his throat as if he couldn't breath or talk. He was swallowed by the waves of Jack's power and was immobile. Lucifer's eyes flashed red briefly, but sizzled out. Castiel could feel a slight prickle of angelic frequency as Lucifer tried to use the same trick he had last time, but it didn't seem to be able to pass through the shield of power Jack had created. Instead, Lucifer seemed only to get more furious, when he saw that his only option of gaining the upper hand was not going to work. Castiel thought he might have even seen a little fear in the Devil's eyes.

Castiel then glanced over to the young nephillim then, watching the boy manipulate his power with a snarl on his lips.

"Don't touch my family," Jack said and then flicked his wrist to one side. Lucifer flew out the door of the closet and a crash was heard from the warehouse beyond. Sam and Dean quickly scrambled to their feet, grabbing their guns on the way out, as Jack staggered against the wall to support himself but still simply ended up slumping to the ground again. Fresh blood was streaming from his nose and he looked exhausted.

"Jack," Castiel called softly, slowly making his way over to the nephillim, his body protesting mightily.

Running footsteps came back inside the room. "He's gone," Dean said grimly. "Flew the coop."

Castiel didn't really care at the moment. They would deal with Lucifer later. He would be off licking his wounds for a while yet. Right now they had more important things to take care of. Like family.

"Jack," Castiel said again, trying to get the boy's attention. He reached out and touched the nephillim's shoulder. Jack started slightly and looked up at Castiel with tears shining in his eyes. He didn't say anything; he didn't need to. Castiel knew exactly what was going through his head.

"Oh, Jack. I'm so sorry," Castiel said softly and simply wrapped his arms around the nephillim, pulling him close to his chest, despite his injuries. Jack rested his head on Castiel's shoulder and closed his eyes as Castiel felt him shudder against him from the shock. He brought a hand up and carded his fingers through Jack's hair before cupping the back of his head

and looked over the boy's shoulder to see Sam and Dean standing there, brows pinched with sympathy for the newest member of their family.

Once Jack finally pulled away, scrubbing at his eyes, Sam stepped forward and reached down to settle a hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, let's go home."


	5. Chapter 5

It wasn't far to the bunker from the warehouse; likely Lucifer had planned on making a trip there at some point. Jack shuddered with the thought of what might have happened if he hadn't been able to stop his father, to overpower him like he had.

His father.

Jack closed his eyes against the splitting headache that still assaulted him as he leaned against the passenger seat window of the Impala, the cool glass doing little to help, but at least it didn't feel too bad.

"Hey, you doing okay, kid?" Dean's gruff concern came suddenly, startling him enough to open his eyes and glance over at the elder Winchester who was casting a sidelong glance at him.

"I—I think I'll be fine," Jack said softly, even that making him wince.

"Well, you can rest up when we get back to the bunker," Dean told him, then glanced over his shoulder. "Cas?"

Sam had swapped his usual seat up front with Jack so he could start patching Castiel up on their drive. Jack felt sickness wash up inside of his already tremulous stomach as images of Lucifer torturing the angel flashed through his mind again.

"I'll live," Castiel grunted.

"That's not what I asked," Dean snapped, worry tinting his voice.

Castiel hissed as Sam did something that obviously caused him pain.

"Sorry," Sam replied. "I don't think there's anything…vital. Just…you'll be able to heal eventually, right Cas? If we help patch you up?"

Cas grunted. "Eventually."

Dean shook his head and Jack closed his eyes again, trying to focus on not throwing up in Dean's car. Even though the elder Winchester had warmed up to him, he didn't think that would endear him to Dean at all.

But another choked off moan from Castiel in the backseat and Sam's soft curse of horror as one of Castiel's worse wounds was obviously discovered had Jack's stomach flipping and he groaned, already reaching for the door handle. "Stop," he moaned. "Dean, stop."

"Whoa!" Dean cried and slammed on the brakes as Jack yanked the door open and practically fell out the door as the Impala came to an abrupt stop. Before he knew it he was on his hands and knees, retching. He'd never done this before, and he never wanted to do it again. It felt awful.

"Hey, hey, easy," Dean said and Jack felt an arm wrap around his chest, keeping him from collapsing with his trembling arms. Jack's stomach heaved a few more times before he finally fell limp, letting Dean take his weight.

"Okay, kid, you're all right now," Dean said, patting his back a few times. "Let's get you back in the car."

Jack allowed Dean to practically lift him back into the Impala where he collapsed against the seat, wiping his mouth. The disgusting taste of bile mixed with blood from his nose assaulted him and he nearly gagged again.

"Here," Sam handed him a bottle of water from the backseat and Jack took it and opened it with shaky hands, sipping gratefully. He spit out the door to rinse his mouth and then took another sip, swallowing it tentatively.

"Are you okay, Jack?" Castiel asked softly.

Jack took a long moment to answer, then finally admitted, "No."

There was silence in the car as Dean reached past Jack to close the door and then put the Impala in drive again and continued on the last stretch to the bunker.

By the time they got there, Jack's stomach wanted to rebel again, but he somehow kept from throwing up until they got inside and then he ran to the bathroom, leaving Sam and Dean to help Castiel inside. He heard Sam calling to him, but he simply slammed the bathroom door and collapsed on his knees by the toilet. His head was spinning as well as splitting now from his mad dash, and it just made his stomach roll more. He retched up bile until he had nothing left and then collapsed, back pressed against the sink, tears streaming down his face.

~~~~~~~

"Jack!" Sam cried and Dean turned to watch the nephillim rush up the stairs into the bunker the instant he parked the Impala in the garage.

Sam scrambled from the backseat but Dean held up a hand. "He probably just needs to throw up again. He was looking kind of green."

Sam swallowed hard. "We need to make sure he's all right."

"I know, and we will, but I need your help getting Cas to his room first."

"I'm fine," Cas tried to protest, already attempting to ease himself up and open his door.

"Uh, yeah, I don't think so," Dean said and hurried around the car just in time to stop the stubborn angel from sprawling on the concrete face first. "Dude, you just got tortured by Lucifer." He didn't miss the flinch from Sam as he said that. "You're not fine."

Castiel sighed and rolled his eyes slightly. "Fine," he grunted. "As long as someone goes to check on Jack."

"I'll go," Sam said and bent down to help Dean lift Cas from the backseat. "But I'll help you get to your room first."

Cas was barely able to bite back the groan as the brothers set him on his feet. Sam and Dean both had to support him as carefully as possible, conscious of all his wounds. Sam had cleaned most of the blood from Cas' skin, and taped gauze over the worst wounds but it just allowed Dean to see just how many wounds Cas had suffered at his demented fallen brother's hands. And now the poor kid had been dragged into it too. But he supposed the small blessing was that Jack would probably not be likely to ever want to join Lucifer's side after this. Not that Dean thought he would before hand. Well—at least not after getting to know the kid.

"We need to heighten the warding here," Cas grunted as they made their way through the bunker. "Lucifer knows where we are and we know he can get in here."

Dean glanced at Sam and his brother swallowed hard. "I'll look into it tonight."

"I can give you sigils. You just have to put them up," Cas told him. "I just don't want…"

"I know," Dean said quickly. Lucifer invading their home just when they thought they were safe was the last thing he wanted too.

"I know Jack may seem strong but he is so young," Cas said softly, sadly. "He should be learning how to use his powers, not having to protect the people who are supposed to be watching over him."

Dean heard the bitterness in Cas' voice and he glanced at Sam. They were in the dormitory ward now, nearly to Cas' room.

"I'm gonna go check on Jack," Sam said.

"Thank you," Cas said, relaxing slightly.

Dean shifted Cas' weight to support him fully and they made it the last few yards to his door. Dean eased Cas down onto the side of the bed and hurried to get the first aid things and a change of comfortable clothes from his room. When he came back, he saw Cas bent over his knees, face in his hands.

"Hey, you good?" Dean asked him.

"I can't believe I let this happen," Cas groaned. "I should never have gone to inquire into Heaven. It was a trap."

"Yeah, not surprised," Dean muttered. "But how did Lucifer come into all this?"

"Apparently he got out of the alternate universe and just happened to find me. Really though, the angels were going to use me the same way; to get Jack to do what they wanted from him."

Dean frowned as he began to help Cas out of his bloody, torn clothes. They'd left his new trench coat in the Impala but Cas wouldn't be needing it for a little bit probably. "Cas, you can't blame yourself for this."

"But it's my job to look after him. Kelly asked me to watch over him; Jack even chose me before he was born. And first I was dead, and then he ran away, and now it seems I'm only putting him in more danger than he would be in already!"

"He's gonna be okay, Cas," Dean tried to assure him. "The kid might have gone through a trauma, but he's tough."

"That's not the point!" Cas snapped. "The point is I'm supposed to be looking after him and I'm failing. I'm a terrible guardian."

"No you're not," Dean said, as he started to lay out the medical supplies. "You've looked after Sam and me for years."

Cas gave him a wry look. "Yes, and both of you have died multiple times under my watchful eye."

Dean shrugged. "Maybe. But that wasn't really your fault, and you were always there when we needed you and that's what really matters."

Cas bit his lip and looked down at his hands.

"Besides," Dean went on. "He has a family who cares about him. You know how many times that's helped me come back from the edge?"

Cas finally looked up again and nodded. "Me too. I just…I hope he doesn't blame himself."

"Well, if he does, we'll fix that," Dean said matter-of-factly as he opened a new package of gauze and finished setting up all the medical supplies. "But right now, let's get you patched up. You can't help the kid if you're bleeding all over the place."

Cas nodded reluctantly, but allowed Dean to start taking care of his wounds. But the hunter didn't miss the anxious glances Cas kept sending toward the hallway.

~~~~~~~

Jack didn't know how long he had been sitting there on the bathroom floor, tears sliding down his face, before there was a knock on the door.

"Jack?"

It was Sam, and Jack wasn't sure if he wanted him to go away or if he wanted him to stay. He was so confused right now. He didn't know what to feel. He didn't know who he was. He choked on another sob.

Sam made the decision for him and opened the door, slipping into the room. A look of concern washed over his face as he saw Jack sitting there, and he crouched in front of the nephillim.

"Hey, how are you doing?" he asked softly.

Jack shook his head, wrapping his arms around his knees. "I don't know…I can't…everything is…"

Sam gave him a soft, sympathetic smile. "I know. Trust me. You're feeling lost, maybe. Not sure of who you are. But, Jack, just remember that those aren't the things that really matter. The things that matter are family. The fact that we're here for you, no matter what."

He sniffed as Sam's hand settled on his shoulder and gave a comforting squeeze. "I never wanted to meet him. I wish he had been lost in that other dimension forever," Jack whispered.

Sam nodded. "I understand. I did too." He shifted and sat down cross-legged in front of Jack. "Look, Jack, I don't know what Lucifer said to you, what he tried to tell you, but I do know how he can be. He manipulates, and he gets under your skin. And he scares the crap out of you. But to be fair, I think you scared the crap out of him too. Lucifer doesn't just run away like that."

Jack sniffed again, remembering the look in Lucifer's—in his father's—eyes as he had stopped him that last time. Perhaps there had been fear there. "But I'm still his son," he whispered, voicing his true fear. "What if I…what if I'm not any different?"

"Jack, stop," Sam cut in firmly. "You know that's not true. Today proved that. You fought Lucifer off to save us and none of us were hurt in the process. You're getting a lot better at using your powers. And look, you said it yourself. Lucifer might be your father in name, but we're your family, right? That's all that matters."

Jack sagged a little, Sam's words of assurance loosening something inside of him that had been knotted up.

Sam stood with a grunt, probably stiff from being thrown around by Lucifer, and grabbed a washcloth, running it under warm water. He then crouched back down and without a word, gripped Jack's chin gently and started to wash the dried blood off his face, where it had caked on his upper lip and in the insides of his ears. Jack hadn't even realized he had been bleeding there until now. The nephillim allowed Sam to do this, not even having the energy to do it himself, and really, rather liking the caring touches Sam offered; it made him feel like he was wanted, that he was important to someone, and not just as a pawn in a game. When the hunter had finished that he got a first aid kit out and began to carefully salve and bandage the burns on Jack's wrists from the manacles.

When he was done, Sam stood and reached down. "You ready to go get some rest now?" he asked.

Jack, whose head was still splitting, decided that was a good idea. "Yes," he said, taking Sam's proffered hands. "But I…I want to see Cas first."

Sam smiled and nodded. "I'm sure he'd like to see you too. Dean's just patching him up now."

Jack felt a wave of dizziness wash over him as Sam pulled him to his feet and wondered how long the effects of Lucifer's tortures would last. Sam steadied him with a hand on his back.

"You okay?" he asked gently.

"I think I can make it to the dormitory," Jack replied. At least he hoped he could. But he paused and looked up at Sam again. "Sam…I'm sorry for what Lucifer did to you."

Sam looked uncomfortable for a moment, but then he shook his head. "Jack…don't ever think you're responsible for that."

"I know I'm not, it happened before I was born," the nephillim said matter-of-factly. "But I'm still sorry. Even the small glimpse of him I got…I can only imagine how horrible it was for you."

Sam swallowed hard, and jerked his head in a nod, looking down. Jack felt suddenly bad for bringing up something so painful. He reached out and touched Sam's arm a little awkwardly, still figuring out human mannerisms.

"Sam, thank you. For…for not giving up on me."

Sam's eyes dampened and he gave a wavering smile. "It's the least I could do. I know how hard it is when… when no one believes in you. I just want you to know, Jack, that, I'll always have faith in you."

Jack felt a little warmth enter his chest at that and he tried to smile, but his eyes just got wet again instead. Sam noticed and smiled wider. "Come here."

He pulled Jack into an embrace, holding him tightly for several long seconds. Jack gripped back just as tightly, enjoying the warm, safe feeling of being in the arms of someone who truly cared for you. Family.

It felt like home.

Sam pulled back eventually though, and cleared his throat, sniffing. "Come on, let's go see Cas."

~~~~~~~

Castiel was propped against the pillows on his bed while Dean finished bandaging his wounds. They would heal eventually now that he no longer had the cuffs on, but with his low grace, and the fact they were all the product of an angel blade, it might be a couple days before he was really back to himself. He gritted his teeth and tried not to protest as Dean finished up suturing the wound in his stomach. That, the stab wound in Castiel's thigh, and the initial stab wound in his shoulder the angels had left him with were bad enough to warrant stitches.

"Last one," Dean murmured as if to himself as he tied off the thread and snipped it. Castiel breathed a silent sigh of relief and slumped back a little more as Dean taped pads of gauze over the last few wounds.

"Thank you," Castiel told him tiredly.

"No problem," Dean said. "You just rest, okay?" He began to put the medical things away, silent, but Castiel could tell there was something resting on his shoulders.

"You don't think the kid's really hurt do you?" Dean finally asked. "With that bleeding out the ears crap."

Castiel glanced toward the door, wondering how Jack was doing and hoping Sam was able to help him. "He's strong," he said decidedly. "But I don't think the psychical injuries are the problem. He'll need time to process all of this emotionally."

Dean nodded and was silent for another long moment before he said, "So, if Lucifer got out of the alternate dimension…where does that leave Mom?"

Castiel nodded, knowing this topic was going to come up eventually. "Lucifer said she was still alive." He saw some relief cause Dean's shoulders to loosen, and added, "Dean we'll find a way to get her back."

"I know," Dean said and cleared his throat. "But right now we gotta get you and Jack back on your feet, right?" He grabbed a long-sleeved shirt he had brought in earlier with the pair of sweatpants Castiel had already put on and shook it out. "Here, this will be more comfortable."

Castiel let Dean help him get the shirt over his head and the loose, soft fabric did feel better than his normal clothes would have on his injuries. Obviously, his shirt was ruined and he had no way of fixing it until he recovered. Although he might just let Dean throw it away. He could get a new one. At least he only had the one hole to repair in his new coat.

While Dean started to clean up the medical supplies Castiel reached over to his side table where there was a pad of paper and took that and a pencil into his lap, beginning to work up a couple of protective sigils they could add to the bunker to make sure Lucifer wasn't able to get in.

The door to his room, which had already been ajar, creaked the rest of the way open now and Sam stepped in, ushering Jack along with him. Castiel's heart ached as he saw the boy shuffle into the room. Jack looked exhausted, and though he had cleaned up and put on fresh clothes his eyes were still so dark underneath they looked bruised, and the pupils were slightly bloodshot. Not to mention hollowed out by his ordeal.

"Jack," Castiel greeted, smiling slightly. "How are you feeling?"

The young nephillim came into the room and slumped heavily on the side of Castiel's bed. "I'm…I still have a headache."

"You should rest," Castiel told him firmly.

Jack nodded, but didn't move. "I wanted to make sure you were okay. Lucifer…"

Castiel stopped him swiftly, not wanting the boy to go there again. "I'll be all right with a little rest. You will be too, I'm sure."

Castiel noticed Sam and Dean leaving the room, saying something about making food and coffee. Castiel figured they were really giving him and Jack a moment alone.

"Castiel…I…I don't know what to do," Jack said helplessly, pulling his knees up to his chest and sitting against the headboard beside Castiel. "Seeing my father…he's still out there. What if he hurts more people? What if he hurts you or Sam and Dean again to get to me? What if he gets his powers back and I can't fight him off the next time?"

Castiel truly felt for the boy, knowing that he felt like he had the world on his shoulders, but he reached out and rested a hand gently on Jack's arm, right above his bandaged wrist. "Jack, listen to me. This is nothing that we haven't gone through time and again. We have defeated Lucifer before, we can do it again. I'm not saying he won't try anything—in fact, it's undoubtable we'll be seeing him again before long. But you know you don't have to do this alone. You have us, and we are always going to be there to support you, Jack, and give you the help you need. When we beat Lucifer again, we'll do it together, just like we always do. There's no reason you have to be afraid."

"But he got into my head before," Jack said, pressing a hand worriedly to his aching forehead. "What if he does that again?"

Castiel shifted slightly, a thought occurring to him as he reached out to settle his hand on Jack's shoulder. "Do you trust me?" he asked, looking the nephillim in the eye.

Jack stared at him with guileless eyes. "Of course."

Castiel nodded. "This will only hurt for a second."

He pressed two fingers to Jack's forehead and exerted what little strength he had left. Jack gasped, squeezing his eyes shut with a wince, but it was over in a second and Castiel slumped back against the pillows, even more drained than he had been before, but counting it worth it.

"What was that?" Jack asked.

"I gave you a protective sigil," Castiel told him. "Sam and Dean have similar ones inscribed on their ribs, but this one will keep Lucifer out of your mind."

Jack looked awed, and grateful, but then he frowned. "What about you? Can you still contact me?"

Castiel smiled. "If you want to let me in, then I will be able to."

Jack nodded slightly and was silent for a long moment looking down at his hands and picking at the bandages on his wrists.

Castiel watched him, not liking the pensive look between the boy's brows. "Jack, are you all right?"

Jack shrugged and finally turned to Castiel again. "Castiel, Lucifer said…he said you and him shared a vessel once. What did he mean?"

Castiel closed his eyes, and shook his head. "It was…a mistake. I thought he could help us defeat the Darkness, that he was the only way but…I was the one who let him out of the Cage again, gave him use of my vessel on a split second stupid decision. All of this, the fact he's here now instead of rotting in Hell, it's all my fault." Jack watched him, as Castiel finally turned back at the boy and offered him a soft look. "But then I look at you, and I realize that sometimes even the worst decisions can bring some good."

Jack's expression changed to warm gratitude, if not with a little skepticism. "You really think so?"

Castiel smiled fully then. "I know so. Your being here, your existence, has finally made my decision, my mistake, worth something." His voice wavered slightly with the emotion he truly felt at that declaration. He hadn't realized how true that was until this very moment.

"I'm glad you and Sam and Dean are my family," Jack whispered.

Castiel smiled at him again. "Me too, Jack."

~~~~~~~

When Sam and Dean returned later, to see if their angel and nephillim wanted anything to eat or drink, they instead found both of them fast asleep. Even Cas dozing against his pillows with Jack curled up beside him, head resting on the angel's shoulder as Cas tucked one arm protectively around the young nephillim.

The two brothers shared a fond look and went to grab some blankets and drape them over the two before they left Cas and Jack to rest and hopefully recharge. Lucifer may still be out there, but at that moment, the only thing that mattered was that their family was back together again. They were going to find Mom, and they were going to defeat Lucifer once and for all, and they were going to do it together.


End file.
